Saga of The Traveler- Redirecting the River
by Master-Magician
Summary: What was once the beginning of madness, may not always be so.
1. Saving a single

**A change in the river of time can have lasting consequences.**

**If you are familiar with certain other stories of mine then you will recognize this is another story featuring the enigmatic character of The Traveler, Endymion. If you are new though then just a heads up, you are not supposed to know exactly who he is or what. At least not here, his story continues elsewhere. **

**Plus this gives me an excuse to create a story where Laura lives. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>"Laura, where are you?" Ruben called out to his older sister.<p>

From behind him the seventeen year old girl Laura stifled her giggle by biting her lip softly.

"I know you're in here, I can hear you breathing..."

Laura moved up closer to him until she was only a step away, the hay on the floor of the barn muffling each step.

Ruben tried to turn around but Laura had already side stepped him and was again behind him and out of his sight.

This time she did not try to hide her giggle.

Ruben whirled around and saw her finally. He instantly ran up to her throwing his arms around her middle. Laura could not help but smile as she returned his embrace.

Her little brother always was very affectionate with her. Likely stemming from the lack of affection their parents gave him. It made her sick to her stomach to think about it, her little brother deserved better.

She tried to do her best to make up for it but she was no substitute for their parents. There was only so much she could do for the little one. So she did what she was able to, remind him he was never alone and would always have her.

This was why she brought him out here to play. It was private and off aside everywhere else. While here they could be whoever they wanted, she was just the big sister and he the little brother. No mom and dad, no mansion, just them.

Laura loved every moment of it.

"Come on" Laura took hold of Ruben's hand and pulled him over to a nearby wooden platform. "Let's try this."

Laura climbed up the ladder onto the platform motioning for Ruben to follow. He did so without hesitation. Laura then proceded to jump off the platform, landing on her rear in a big pile of hay which heavily softened her landing.

Standing up, Laura held her arms out for her younger brother. "Don't worry, just jump." She sent him a radiant smile, she knew he could not resist.

Ruben still looked nervous but after a few moments he dove off just like she had. The young boy let out a soft grunt as he landed softly exactly as she had.

"See? Fun wasn't it?"Laura let out a soft giggle as she sat on her knees beside Ruben. The young boy laughed as he nodded enthusiastically.

As they were playing, Laura began to notice a strange smell. It was something she had smelled before, it reminded her of when her family would have a fire going in the fireplace of a sitting room.

It took Laura only three seconds to realize why it was so familiar. That was because it was the product of a fire.

Smoke.

They were in a barn in the middle of a sunflower field. The only source of such a smell would have to be a fire. If there was a fire nearby though, and they were in a barn full of hay...

Laura never got the chance to scream a warning to Ruben before the flames erupted from seemingly nowhere. The second they touched the dry hay, they grew exponentially.

The young girl rushed to the door to try to push it open. If they could get the main barn door open then they could rush out quickly before either was burned too badly.

Only when she pushed against the door did Laura understand the sheer danger of their situation.

The door was stuck fast.

"Somebody! Open the door!" Laura screamed as she pushed against the door with all her strength. The heavy wood however did not budge.

A voice behind her cried out in pain.

Laura whirled around just in time to see Ruben collapse on the floor. "Ruben!"

While she had been shoving against the door, a large stack of hay lit aflame had fallen straight toward the young boy. He had moved fast enough to dodge being crushed by the burning material but some of it flew off on impact against the floor. The pieces of burning hay had flew over him, burning his skin in several places along his face, neck, and shoulder.

"Ruben you have to get up!" Laura was at her brother's side in an instant. As gently as she could she moved her arm beneath his and lifted him back to his feet.

The flames were running all along the stray pieces of hay covering the floor. The flames were licking at their clothing and any exposed skin. Laura could feel the fabric of her dress covered in small fires but she pushed the pain out of her mind. Ruben was in danger and she was going to get him out of here.

Even if it was going to cost her life.

Looking frantically around the room, Laura searched for any way out of the barn. Her eyes settled on a small window in the loft. It would be a nasty drop outside but it was a chance. A chance she very willing to take. A nearby ladder led up to the loft, the two siblings only had to reach the ladder, climb up, and then climb out the window.

They only made two steps when Ruben collapsed back to the floor. "L...Laura?"

"I'm here Ruben, just hold on." Laura was in tears, not just from the pain of her burns, it was the pain in Ruben's voice. She had always been sensitive to his pain. If he was hurt, she was too.

She was about to try to lift him again when all of a sudden Ruben was raised back up to his feet.

Without her assistance.

Laura's eyes moved to the other side of the boy to see a man had his arm under Ruben's just like hers had been. It took her a moment to register that there was another person in the barn with them.

The first thing she saw about him was the long black coat he wore. The second was the weird silver eyes he was looking at the two siblings with. Laura had never seen anything like them before. Were they not in a burning building, Laura would almost feel enchanted by them.

"Come now Master Ruben. Now is not the time to linger." The newcomer's voice seemed to reassure Ruben, or spur him on, because the boy was moving again. Oddly enough his voice did the same for her, she was still scared yes but somehow hearing him speak made her feel better.

Who was this man and where did he come from? Laura had tried to open the doors herself, they were still sealed shut even now. He could not have been here already. Her and Ruben had checked the barn for anyone else there. They were completely alone.

Normally Laura would be weary of strangers, especially if they were around her little brother. However, right now Laura only cared to get Ruben out of the burning barn.

Any help was greatly appreciated toward that end.

Ruben did not seem to notice the new arrival. If he did he did not show it. Except for a whimper of pain he did not make a sound.

The younger of the two siblings was at least moving on his own now despite what had to be extremely painful burns. Laura was about to follow when she felt a large but lightweight coat being draped over her shoulders.

"Keep this on, it shall keep the flames at bay." Laura did not know why the man gave her his coat but the effect was instant. The flames were all around her but she did not feel most of them through the odd leather fabric of the coat.

Quickly slipping her lithe arms through the sleeves, Laura followed her brother toward the ladder. The silver eyed man right behind her.

Within moments the three were at the ladder. "Ruben, you have to climb, we're almost out of here." Laura tried her best to sound reassuring like the man had been. She was more terrified than she had ever been in her life.

Ruben did as he was told and went up.

Laura was right behind him but when she was almost to the top the ladder broke. Laura cried out but managed to catch on to the edge of the wooden loft.

"Laura!" Ruben screamed. He was moving to help her up but he did not have the strength, even if he was not already badly burned.

Laura knew that between herself and Ruben she would be able to climb up but she did not have to try. A hand had shot out from beside Ruben and latched onto her wrist.

"I've gotcha. Upsy-daisy." The man was beside Ruben pulling her up but... that was imposable. He had been behind her when she started climbing the ladder. He could not have gotten around Laura without her noticing.

They were so close to their escape that Laura did not bother questioning the strange man.

They were at the small windows moments later.

"Ruben, you have to climb..." Laura helped Ruben up to the small window so he could climb out. She could hear his yell as he fell but if she recalled correctly there would be hay there to soften the fall at least a little. It was certainly better than burning.

The stranger was in front of her now kneeling on the ground with his fingers laced together. Laura stepped forward and put her foot in his hands. With a great heave, he tossed her up to the window. She grabbed on to the edge of the windowsill and pulled herself through. Just before she did, Laura heard a loud crack behind her.

A large wooden beam from the ceiling was falling.

Straight toward the stranger that had helped them escape.

Laura was about to scream a warning to the man but before she did, an invisible force hit her and shoved her out the window. On reflex, she screamed as she fell to the ground. Thankfully she had been right, there was a pile of hay underneath the window they fell from.

"There's another one!" Someone was yelling. It was only then that Laura had noticed there were several people all around helping her back to her feet.

She was about to call out to her brother when the boy in question suddenly rushed to her. He crashed into her almost hard enough to knock her down but she held her ground. Ruben's arms were instantly around her tightly.

"L...Laura?" Ruben's voice was so soft, so fragile, it broke Laura's heart.

Wrapping her own around him just as tight, Laura whispered softly to him. "Shh... it's alright. I'm right here. You're okay." Laura held one arm around his smaller form while her other rubbed soft and soothing circles into his back.

The third thud of a person hitting the hay pile behind her that Laura was expecting never came. With Ruben still in her arms, Laura risked a look at the barn. Her eyes shot open in disbelief.

She had looked just in time to see most of the burning building collapse into itself.

With the stranger still inside.

"Wait! There's still someone inside!" Laura was screaming. "You have to help him!" The man had helped save her brother and herself, they had to do something for him.

"Girly..." Laura looked up when one of the men around her put a hand on her shoulder. "Ain't no one coming back from that."

No... he could not be gone. They could not leave him in there to die, but there was nothing Laura could do. She could only watch the barn burn the rest of the way, holding her brother tighter than she had ever done before.

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><p><strong>Going to be a multi part story. Reviews give me incentive to get the follow-up out faster. <strong>

**Has anyone else wondered how things could have been different if Laura was not killed? Personally I think Ruben was a bit of an eccentric child yes, but if he grew up with his sister he would not have gone insane like he did. I think he had the potential to be a brilliant doctor, and with a rich family like his he could have afforded the schooling. That would be on top of the knowledge he already had. **

**There is a good chance if Laura had survived, all of his experiments with the STEM system would never have happened. If I recall correctly from one of the audio tapes, his entire goal with the STEM project was to bring Laura back.**

**This is just my theory but what do you all think?**


	2. life could forever

**Part two of redirecting the river. If you are familiar with some of my other stories you will recognize The Traveler. **

**Also the chapter titles are pieces of a single sentence, it was a last minute addition. I have also changed my other stories about The Traveler to go under a single main title. Saga of The Traveler. **

**I just remembered to fix the first chapter. I meant to say multi part instead of two part. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p>The next several hours were a rapid blur. Laura and the badly burned Ruben were taken back to their family home by several of the men who found them. It was through them that Laura found out what happened. They were all too happy to rat out the real perpetrators.<p>

Ruben was the worst off the two of them. Laura was no doctor but she knew he was in extremely bad shape. A large part of his body was covered in the horrifying burns, his chances of recovery were high but he would be forever scarred.

The though brought a nagging pain to Laura's heart. It had been her idea to play in that barn away from everyone else. Now it was poor little Ruben who was forced to pay the price.

Laura herself was remarkably unscathed. She had several minor burns, mostly on her feet and lower legs. Her dress was of course ruined, both it and her hair were quite singed. The coat that the stranger had given her shielded her from most of the flames somehow. Laura was not aware of any material that could have done that like it did. The garment felt like leather in her hands but could not have been. It would have been consumed by the flames if it was.

More weirder than the coat, was that silver eyed man himself. Laura had screamed that he was still in there when the barn collapsed but she was in for a bit of a shock when the ruins of the barn were later examined for a body.

Except for piles of ash and burnt hay there was nothing.

The man's body was nowhere to be found.

There was no way he could have escaped the barn with no one noticing and yet somehow he had done just that.

At first Laura thought he may have been a hallucination. Her and her brother were about to burn to death, so of course her mind would conjure up a protector to save them both. Yet when Laura held that unique coat in her hands she knew the man had been no delusion. He was there, he had to of been.

Laura knew she was not crazy.

Letting out a soft sigh, Laura ran her hands over the skirt of her clean dress. She was going a little stir crazy.

After they had been taken home, their father had called in all the doctors he knew of for Ruben. The boy probably should have been taken to the hospital but for whatever reason their father wanted him treated here instead.

Ruben was cleaned and bandaged up but Laura was forbidden from entering the room. Laura would have tried to enter anyway but their mother was in there with the unconscious Ruben. He would not wake up alone, that was the only reason why Laura was not forcing her way into his room. As much as she wanted to be by her little brother's side, Laura did not want to cause more problems.

This was why she was currently sitting in a chair outside the room that one of the servants had brought for her. If she could not be inside then she would be just outside in case he awoke and called out for her. Laura was unsure if Ruben would remember that she escaped too, if he did not remember she would rush in as fast as possible to reassure him she was fine as well.

Laura dared not imagine how Ruben would react if he thought she had perished.

Laura sat in her silent vigil when the soft thuds of footfalls reached her ears from down the hall. It was so quiet that if the hallway had not been as silent as the grave she would have missed them.

Something else Laura noticed before she even looked up. The way the person was walking, they were making noise in purpose, as if to not startle her.

Laura looked up to the shock of her life.

The silver eyed man was walking down the hallway toward her.

Alive, and even weirder, he did not have a single burn or scratch on him.

When he got closer, Laura took her first real, hard look at him. The silver eyes were the most obvious fact about him but Laura saw that she was not entirely correct on her first assumption. His neck was covered in small marks, it was not until he was right beside her that Laura could see that they were scars in symbols of some kind she had never seen. His bare arms were covered in the same weird markings.

HIs attire was also strange too. It seemed made of a foreign black material of some kind. If Laura had to wager a guess, it reminded her a little of armor from one of her books.

For a moment he was silent, he only stared at the door to Ruben's room. He seemed to have no desire to enter, if Laura had to guess he seemed more curious than anything. "How is the lad doing?"

It took Laura a few moments to find her voice. "Fine?"

The stranger chuckled quietly. "Sorry, I seem to have forgotten my manners. You're Laura, correct?"

Laura could only nod.

"I'm sometimes called The Traveler, but you can call me Endymion." The man, Endymion, bowed slightly in greeting. Before Laura could come up with a response, he dropped down to one knee beside her chair.

"How... You were still in the barn..." Laura was struggling to speak, something about this man unnerved her. Not in a dangerous sort of way, in fact she felt safer beside this man than she did anywhere else. There was just something wrong about Endymion. As if he was not supposed to be here.

"I will answer all in a moment. First though, mind if I have my coat back?"

Laura had not realized until that exact moment that she was still wearing the coat he had given her back at the barn. After she changed clothes she had put the garment back on, it made her feel... safe.

Blushing slightly in embarrassment, Laura removed the coat and offered it to Endymion. The man gave her a small smile before standing up and throwing it back on with a flourish.

"Ahh... much better." Endymion shifted his shoulders as he sat back down beside her chair again. "Now, what would you like to know first?"

"Are you real?" Laura blurted the question out before thinking.

Endymion actually laughed. "Coin for every time I've been asked that." The words had been mumbled but Laura's ears still caught them. "Yes, I'm quite real. Just not from around here."

"Where are you from then?"

"Somewhere very, very far away. A place that no longer exists." Endymion's voice held a concealed edge of remorse.

"I must know... the barn, we looked it over when he arrived. The doors were sealed even during the fire. If you are real then how did you get in?" This was the question that was really nagging at Laura's mind. If Endymion was indeed real then he had to of come from somewhere.

"You are correct, I was not in the barn. I arrived shortly after the fire began."

Laura could only stare at him in disbelief. "How did you get in then?"

A tiny smirk grew along Endymion's lips. "Trade secrets milady."

Laura sighed, it was fairly obvious she was not going to get any real answers about this topic from the strange man.

There was one other thing she needed to know though.

"Why did you save us? Why come into a burning barn and nearly get yourself killed for us?" Laura was not one to devalue her own life but she was just a young girl. Getting two people killed to save one would be foolish. Why this man would take that risk she did not know.

"I did not save you both."

"What?" Laura was really confused now.

"Ruben was going to make it even if I had not arrived. You, however, would not."

Laura had no response to that. Was Endymion saying that she was supposed to die? The thought of course scared her, but the other thing he said is what reassured her. Ruben was going to make it either way. That was at least something.

At least it was until the next words that Endymion spoke reached her ears.

"However, it would have been a mercy if you both burned instead."

Laura was about to scold Endymion for daring to say such a thing but he raised a hand to silence her and continued speaking.

"I've seen the monster he becomes. You have not." Endymion glanced over at the door leading to Ruben's room. "A creature, human in form only, consumed by hatred, rage, and grief. The man he becomes was no longer your brother."

"My brother is no monster!" Laura's voice was a little louder than she would have liked but she was not about to let this man insult her brother, whether he saved them or not.

Endymion smiled. "Of course he isn't. Now he has a chance."

The silver eyed man turned around so that his back was facing her. "If you want to see what I speak of, follow me. If not, remain here for when little Ruben finally wakes."

Laura watched Endymion walk away for several moments. Part of her wanted to stay should Ruben awaken, but another part desperately wanted to know what he meant by her brother becoming a monster. Perhaps if she knew why, she could prevent it in the future.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Laura rose to her feet. She gave a last passing look to Ruben's door before following Endymion down the hallway.

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><p><strong>If people are interested in seeing Endymion in more Evil Within stories then drop a review saying so. I have a few more ideas. Also, what Endymion had under the coat looks somewhat like Kevlar armor but only looks like it. <strong>


	3. change the future

**To those interested in learning more about Endymion look at my profile for The Legend of The Traveler, it gives a tiny bit more information about him. **

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><p>Laura followed Endymion out onto one of the higher balconies of the mansion. It was nighttime so it was dark save for the starry sky and moon above.<p>

"Wait right here, I shall return shortly." With that Endymion left her alone.

Not knowing what else to do, Laura took a seat at the small table. It was a tiny thing, barely enough room for two people to share tea and talk.

As Laura waited she let her mind wander.

Her brother could never be a monster... could he? How her death could affect him so she knew though. She was the only one who really showed true love and affection for the small boy. Their parents, particularly their father, rarely did if at all.

Ruben living a life, especially with his current injury, without her terrified her in more ways than one. He would be all alone in this big house... No one to show him any real love, no one to play with him.

Laura felt the slight stinging in her eyes that indicated the approach of tears. She sniffled quietly and frantically wiped her eyes before Endymion got back. She did not want to appear weak in front of him. Somehow she knew whatever he was about to show her would be horrifying. She had to be strong though, both inside and outside.

This was something she wanted... no, needed, to see.

When Endymion returned he held several items in his arms. The first was a small candle, the second a pitcher of water, and the third a large pan.

Laura watched carefully as he placed the items on the table. The pan was set in front of her, the water from the pitcher being poured into it.

"What I'm about to show you will amaze you at first, then horrify you." Endymion spoke with a soft, gentle voice.

Laura could only nod.

Setting the candle off to the side beside the pan, Endymion took the seat across from her. His next act is what really shocked her.

He lit the candle with a swipe of his finger.

Laura's eyes shot open in surprise. How on earth did he do that?

"Told you it would amaze you." Endymion smiled slightly. "Now, have you ever heard of divination?"

Divination? Laura eyes him curiously. The word was familiar but she did not know the answer. "No."

"Simple explanation, it is a way of using various methods to answer a question or to see something, the method we are using here is water. The practice is not used around here outside of stories and such." As he spoke, Endymion ran his finger through the water in the pan.

As Laura watched she grew more and more transfixed. The water in the pan was taking shape into various images. It was foggy, as if she were looking through a clouded window.

"Now, take my hand." Endymion rested his hand on the table in front of her.

Laura took it without hesitation.

"Final warning. What you are about to see will be terrifying, it will scar you forever deep down. You will never be able to forget. If you truly want to help prevent what he becomes, you must see." Endymion's words sounded almost... rehearsed. As if he had given this same speech before. "Do you still wish to continue?"

Laura hesitated only for a moment before she squeezed the man's hand softly.

This was for Ruben, for him she would face any nightmare.

Laura nodded once again.

With that the images instantly cleared up. The first that appeared was a tall man wearing a white hood. His back was facing them, masking his features. He stood at a workbench of some kind. Whatever it was he was doing, Laura could not see.

When the man suddenly stepped away to reveal what he was doing, the bile rose in her throat. There was a human body resting on the workbench in a vice of some kind to anchor it down. The top part of the head was missing, revealing the cut open skull and brain beneath. The table itself was covered with bloody saws, knives, and other tools.

The worst part of the image was that the person was still alive and moaning... god he was being cut upon while he was still alive!

When the hooded man turned around she got a good look at him too. It took everything Laura had not to throw up right then and there. He wore only a dirty pair of white pants and a matching jacket with no shirt beneath. The sliver of exposed skin on his chest and stomach was covered in what looked like old severe burns. His face looked the same, with similar old looking burns. Some of his flesh even appeared to be stitched together.

The truly scary part was that many of those burns were close matches to the burns Ruben suffered.

"No no no no..." Laura muttered the words quietly. This could not be Ruben, he looked more like Frankenstein's monster than he did a person.

"This Laura, is what Ruben becomes. Only he stopped using the name long ago, he began going by Ruvik instead." Endymion's voice was apologetic. "Ruben died long ago, in a tiny dark, and lonely room."

Laura tore her eyes away from the image before her. "What do you mean?" Surely it took more than her death to create this kind of change in Ruben. The boy was always a bit different compared to everyone else but this was another person.

"As I told you, Ruben survived the barn regardless of my intervention. You died to save him." Laura knew that part. What he said next she did not. "Ruben was taken back to your family home just like now, except your father was ashamed to have a son disfigured so badly."

Endymion moved his finger again in the pan, the image changed. This time it showed a small dark room, the only light came from a nearby window. Laura recognized it as the basement of their mansion. It was one of the far off storage rooms, it was different in the image however. It was reorganized to form a small bedroom of some kind. If he could be called so, it looked more like what a homeless person would sleep in.

On the bed a single figure laid, the form was curled up tightly into itself. The quiet sobbing sent a twinge of pain through Laura's heart. She recognized that crying sound. She had seen it herself in person more times than she would have liked to.

The real blow to Laura's heart came when the shape turned over. An all too familiar small boy, covered in burns and dirty, ratty clothes laid on the equally filthy bed.

"R...Ruben?" Laura was fighting the tears back now. Her hand, without her knowledge, had formed a death grip on Endymion's.

"Ruben spent many years locked down in this tiny room." Endymion explained slowly. "Losing you was the first hit, the second was the sheer pain of his burns, the final blow that broke him was being locked away like an animal by his own father. It was around this time that Ruvik was born."

If it was not for Endymion's grip on her hand, Laura felt like she might have sprung to her feet to run to Ruben's room. Just to make sure he was still there and what she was seeing really was not real.

"If it makes you feel any better, your mother was completely unaware of this." Laura's eyes snapped up at that. "She was led to believe you both perished in the fire, she was forbidden from the basement, but she always suspected she could hear him down there."

Once more, Endymion changed the image. This time it was her parents room, the disturbing part was the tall bandaged figure standing in front of the bed with a bloody knife in hand.

"Oh, father, if you only knew how satisfying that look on your face is." The bandaged man spoke quietly, his voice was disturbing. It sounded so... gleeful.

Laura looked down toward the floor to see who the man was talking to. She was greeting by the sight of both her parents laying on the floor at the foot of their bed. Both covered in bloody stab wounds side by side.

"Did you actually think if you locked me away I would just cease to exist?" Gripping the bloody knife in hand he continued to speak.

Laura could only stare in horror at the man in the image. It did not take a genius to figure out the bandaged man was her brother.

Her brother that had just murdered their parents.

Their mother and father.

"Out of sight, out of mind? You did... you did, didn't you."

Laura always knew her father could be cruel, but what he had done to Ruben... it was something completely unforgivable. Something she thought him incapable of.

"Well you were never out of my mind." Ruben's voice sounded so sickly sweet it was disgusting to Laura's ears.

"I hope you're proud of yourselves." At Ruben's words the image faded with another to replace it. This time Ruben... no, Ruvik, was laying on an operating table surrounded by many people dressed in white.

Laura knew an operating room of a hospital when she saw it.

"What's this?" Laura could not see exactly what was going on because of all the people surrounded Ruvik. She assumed he was having surgery for something.

"The death of Ruvik's body but not his mind."

Laura looked up at Endymion. "I don't understand."

Once more the picture in the water shifted, now it showed a large circular room. In the middle was a glass sphere with a brain within. A label on the case told Laura who it belonged to.

Ruben Victoriano.

"He spends his entire adult life working on something called the STEM project. After countless experiments on people, alive and dead, he finally perfected the process. Unfortunately, the people funding his research turned on him. His own body was harvested to finish it. He spends a time trapped within a world fueled by his own madness and nightmares. He later escapes by possessing the body of another young man to embark on a quest for vengeance."

Laura did not know what else to say. Everything she was hearing was so unbelievable but she was seeing it in the water with her own eyes.

"But all of this is irrelevant."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at it this way, Laura. Time is a river, it flows a single way and forges on. The flow of said river is the events that you have seen. Through my intervention the flow has changed to a different direction."

Laura was beginning to understand now. "So all you showed me..."

"Has not happened. Now that the first domino has been removed, there is a chance none of it will ever happen. You survived the fire, you have the power to hold his mind together in this difficult time."

Laura already felt the pressure of the man's words. For Ruben, she would do anything.

After blowing out the candle, the balcony returned to darkness.

Endymion stood to his feet. "My business here is done. I must now take my leave."

Laura was back to her feet in the blink of an eye. "Wait!"

Endymion regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "Yes?"

"I have to know..." Laura's curiosity was burning in her mind. "The candle, the water, all of that, how did you do it all? How did you know about Ruben?"

Endymion chuckled quietly. "Because I have seen it firsthand."

Before Laura could say anything else the man was walking away.

He spoke one last time before disappearing back into the doorway. "Your brother will always need you, never hesitate to show him the love he deserves." With that, Endymion stepped back into the house.

Laura broke into a sprint to get to the door. She threw it open but when she searched the hallway, Endymion was already gone without a trace.

Somehow she knew that was the last she would be seeing of him.

Feeling a strong desire to see her brother, Laura rushed back to the boy's room. She arrived just in time to see her mother leave.

Laura was already entering the room before their mother even made it down the hallway.

Ruben was still out cold. He laid in bed with his head and various parts of his body wrapped in fresh bandages. Laura wasted no time in taking the seat beside the bed that their mother had previously occupied.

Laura, slowly and gently, reached foreword and took Ruben's unburned hand in her own. The young boy did not stir but Laura remained in place.

Laura thought about everything Endymion had showed and told her. No matter what it took, she would not allow any of it to happen. Her baby brother was going to get the chance to grow up into a fine young man. He would not become the monster. Laura leaned in close to the slumbering boy and whispered softly.

"I'm here Ruben, I will always be here no matter what. I love you little brother."

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><p><strong>So ends another piece of The Saga of The Traveler. To those interested his story continues elsewhere, simply look at my profile for other pieces of his tale. <strong>

**Let me know what you all think, reviews give me desire to write. **


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